It was a lovely day to go out for a run, and while getting a likely final glimpse of the frozen Charles River for the season I listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was an incredible series of talks by Robin Jacob on Lego and intellectual property at the UCL Faculty of Laws. Jacob reviews the history of the invention of Lego bricks, their blatant copying of previous brick designs, and their attempted legal maneuvers to maintain a monopoly on plastic bricks. Highly recommend

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SbbcvfDPGo
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoT6tPXIPfo
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWgmctaYpis

Next was an engaging conversation with David Card on his career in economics at CASBS at Stanford https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_HfQ4sZHJI

Next was an important panel on the new IEEE indigenous data standard with Stephanie Carroll, Jane Anderson, Randall Akee, Maui Hudson, and Camille Callison at the Indigenous Data Alliance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOwGhq4gDkM

Last was "Empire of Purity" by Eva Payne. This is an eye-opening look at a critical period of global history - the half-century when the US successfully turned the world away from regulation and legalization of prostitution. Payne focuses on the major players in this effort and the international arenas that they most fiercely contested. This is a rich history, but I would have liked more background on the development and scale of the prostitution industry, as well as more from the workers themselves. This history is important both to understand the modern legal landscape around prostitution and as a demonstration of how political efforts can criminalize an established industry. Highly recommend https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691256979/empire-of-purity